Australian UFC 127 winners fulfill dreams, welcome future challenges

While UFC lightweight contender George Sotiropoulos carried the expectations of a nation on his shoulders in a UFC 127 loss to Dennis Siver, the submission ace wasn’t the only Aussi competing on native turf.

All three said the chance to claim octagon victories in front of an enthusiastic hometown crowd was a dream come true, and all three said they couldn’t wait for the next test in their way.

“It feels good,” Noke said at the evening’s post-event press conference. “It’s a dream of mine to fight in the UFC. To have the opportunity to fight at home, in Australia for the UFC, I’m happy. I’m excited.”

Noke needed just 95 seconds to dispose of fellow “The Ultimate Fighter 11″ cast member Chris Camozzi via rear-naked choke. The quick win earned Noke the evening’s $75,000 “Submission of the Night” win, but he wasn’t the only Aussie to take home a bonus check. Veteran kickboxer Mark Hunt also nabbed the night’s “Knockout of the Night” award with a second-round destruction of wrestler Chris Tuchscherer.

The upset win snapped a six-fight losing streak for the 36-year-old that dated all the way back to 2006.

“I haven’t won a fight in so long,” Hunt admitted. “It was great to win.

“It’s been a long time between drinks for me – a long time.”

Perosh found himself in a similar position. Sure, “The Hippo” was 5-3 in his previous eight fights, but he had been trying unsuccessfully since 2006 to register his first octagon victory. He had failed three previous times before earning a first-round submission win over Tom Blackledge at UFC 127.

“Everyone told me, ‘Don’t let the pressure get to you,’ but sitting at this table, all the other Aussies, they all had wins,” Perosh said. “Kyle Noke had wins. George had wins. James Te Huna is doing well. It was that pressure.

“I wanted my first win in the UFC, and now I just want to keep moving up that ladder and see how far I can go.”

Te Huna came up short agains Swedish prospect Alexander Gustafsson. Nevertheless, the Aussies held their own even as Sotiropoulos fell short. It’s a promising sign for the potential of Australian MMA. Noke appears to offer the most upside at the moment, and he expressed an attitude that seems pretty consistent with all the fighters Down Under.

A total of 26 fighters got their chance to shine on Saturday as part of UFC 190 at Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena. Now that UFC 190 is in the books, it’s time to commence MMAjunkie’s “Three Stars” ceremony.

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